Police search for evidence in murder of Kirkland mom

Kirkland, Wash. - Thursday morning, SWAT officers served search warrants in Seattle and Bellevue working to solve the murder of Amy Gang Hargrove.

A house in South Seattle is listed in court documents as an address used by her ex-boyfriend, Burrell Cushman. Police also searched a condo at complex in Bellevue near Crossroads Mall.

Investigators with the Kirkland Police Department tell KIRO 7 they have a pretty good idea who may have killed a 28-year-old mother of four. The body of Amy Gang – who also used the last name Hargrove, was found strangled in her mother's Kirkland home last week.

28-year-old Burrell Michael Cushman, is a "person of interest" in the crime. Since Gang's body was found, Cushman has been questioned multiple times by detectives. He has been told not to leave the area while police work leads.

"We're just going to process the evidence and continue investigating and talking to people," Lt. Mike Murray told KIRO 7 Reporter Amy Clancy, "and see if we can get an arrest that way."

Gang lived in fear of Cushman for years. According to a restraining order she filed in 2012, Cushman beat and raped her repeatedly while she was pregnant with the couple's now 2-year-old son. In the documents, Gang wrote, "A piece of paper isn't going to save my life when he finally gets me, but at least you will know who killed me."

Gang said Cushman was motivated by revenge because she left him. She said he had access to guns, and had pointed a gun at her before. During an argument Gang said he grabbed her by the neck and threw her across the room. She also wrote to the court that she regretted not leaving Cushman sooner.

She worried about her children and wrote, “I just need my children safe. I want them to know how much I love them."

A friend of Gang's, who asked not to be identified because she's afraid of Cushman, said that Cushman was angry that Gang had custody of their child, and threatened to kill her.

Cushman was also arrested in 2011 on charges of eluding police, DUI and reckless endangerment. According to court documents, Cushman was pulled over for allegedly driving 100 mph with two of Gang's four children in the car.

Gang also wrote about that incident while applying for a restraining order, arguing that Cushman was dangerous. Cushman also has a prior Assault 3 conviction for punching another former girlfriend in the face eight times.

When contacted at their home last Thursday, Gang's family members declined to comment. Meanwhile, police continue to work the case focusing on their person of interest. "He has cooperated with our detectives," Murray said. "They believe they're talking to the right person."

Hargrove’s friends want justice. “Someone has to know something and we know that. Someone doesn't walk into a house and strangle a woman to death and not say anything else,” said Jennifer Hallman.